Kendang
Encyclopedia
Kendhang is a two-headed drum used by peoples from Maritime Southeast Asia
.
Kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the Gamelan
ensembles of Java
, Bali
and Terengganu
, the Malay Kendang ensemble as well as various Kulintang
ensembles in Indonesia
, Malaysia, Brunei
, and the Philippines
. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic groups.
The typical double-sided membrane drums are known throughout Maritime Southeast Asia
and India
. One of the oldest image of kendang can be found in ancient temples
in Indonesia, especially the ninth century Borobudur
and Prambanan
temple.
Among the Javanese, Sunda
nese, or Malay people
s, the kendang has one side larger than the other, with the larger, lower-pitched side usually placed to the right, and are usually placed on stands horizontally and hit with the hands one either side while seated on the floor. Among groups like the Balinese
, Tausug, or Maranao
, both sides are of equal size, and are played on either one or both sides using a combination of hands and/or sticks.
Within Gamelan, the kendhang is smaller than the bedug
, which is placed inside a frame, hit with a beater, and used less frequently. The kendang usually has the function of keeping the tempo
and changing irama
, and signaling some of the transitions (paralihan) to sections and the end of the piece (suwuk).
In dance or wayang
, the kendhang player must follow the movements of the dancer, and communicate them to the other players in the ensemble. In West Java
, kendang are used to keep the tempo of Gamelan Degung
. Kendang are also used as main instrument for Jaipongan
dance. In another composition called Rampak Kendang, a group of drummers play in harmony.
, coconut
s or cempedak
. Buffalo
hide is often used for the bam (inferior surface which emits low-pitch beats) while goatskin is used for the chang (superior surface which emits high-pitch beats).
The skin is stretched on y-shaped leather or rattan
strings, which can be tightened to change the pitch of the heads. The thinner the leather the sharper the sound.
In Gamelan Surakarta
, four sizes of kendhang are used:
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and includes the modern countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Singapore....
.
Kendang is one of the primary instruments used in the Gamelan
Gamelan
A gamelan is a musical ensemble from Indonesia, typically from the islands of Bali or Java, featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, drums and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included....
ensembles of Java
Java
Java is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
, Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
and Terengganu
Terengganu
Terengganu is a sultanate and constitutive state of federal Malaysia. The state is also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Iman...
, the Malay Kendang ensemble as well as various Kulintang
Kulintang
Kulintang is a modern term for an ancient instrumental form of music composed on a row of small, horizontally-laid gongs that function melodically, accompanied by larger, suspended gongs and drums...
ensembles in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, Brunei
Brunei
Brunei , officially the State of Brunei Darussalam or the Nation of Brunei, the Abode of Peace , is a sovereign state located on the north coast of the island of Borneo, in Southeast Asia...
, and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. It is constructed in a variety of ways by different ethnic groups.
Overview
Maritime Southeast Asia
Maritime Southeast Asia refers to the maritime region of Southeast Asia as opposed to mainland Southeast Asia and includes the modern countries of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Brunei, East Timor and Singapore....
and India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. One of the oldest image of kendang can be found in ancient temples
Candi of Indonesia
Candi are the Hindu and Buddhist temples and sanctuaries of Indonesia, mostly built during the 8th to 15th centuries...
in Indonesia, especially the ninth century Borobudur
Borobudur
Borobudur, or Barabudur, is a 9th-century Mahayana Buddhist monument near Magelang, Central Java, Indonesia. The monument comprises six square platforms topped by three circular platforms, and is decorated with 2,672 relief panels and 504 Buddha statues...
and Prambanan
Prambanan
Prambanan is a ninth century Hindu temple compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator , the Sustainer and the Destroyer...
temple.
Among the Javanese, Sunda
Sundanese people
The Sundanese are an ethnic group native to the western part of the Indonesian island of Java. They number approximately 31 million, and are the second most populous of all the nation's ethncities. The Sundanese are predominantly Muslim...
nese, or Malay people
Malay people
Malays are an ethnic group of Austronesian people predominantly inhabiting the Malay Peninsula, including the southernmost parts of Thailand, the east coast of Sumatra, the coast of Borneo, and the smaller islands which lie between these locations...
s, the kendang has one side larger than the other, with the larger, lower-pitched side usually placed to the right, and are usually placed on stands horizontally and hit with the hands one either side while seated on the floor. Among groups like the Balinese
Balinese people
The Balinese population of 3.0 million live mostly on the island of Bali, making up 89% of the island's population. There are also significant populations on the island of Lombok, and in the eastern-most regions of Java The Balinese population of 3.0 million (1.5% of Indonesia's population) live...
, Tausug, or Maranao
Maranao
Maranao is the term used for the people of Lanao, a predominantly Muslim region in the Philippines island of Mindanao. They are famous for their artwork, sophisticated weaving, wood and metal craft, and their epic literature...
, both sides are of equal size, and are played on either one or both sides using a combination of hands and/or sticks.
Within Gamelan, the kendhang is smaller than the bedug
Bedug
The bedug is one of the drums used in the gamelan. It is also used among Muslims in Java in religious purposes.-Overview:Unlike the more frequently-used kendang, the bedug is suspended from a rack and played with a padded mallet. It is similar in size or larger to the largest kendang...
, which is placed inside a frame, hit with a beater, and used less frequently. The kendang usually has the function of keeping the tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
and changing irama
Irama
Irama is a concept used in Javanese gamelan music, describing melodic tempo and relationships in density between the balungan, elaborating instruments, and gong structure. It is distinct from tempo , as each irama can be played in different tempi.One way to think of irama is to use the most...
, and signaling some of the transitions (paralihan) to sections and the end of the piece (suwuk).
In dance or wayang
Wayang
Wayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
, the kendhang player must follow the movements of the dancer, and communicate them to the other players in the ensemble. In West Java
West Java
West Java , with a population of over 43 million, is the most populous and most densely populated province of Indonesia. Located on the island of Java, it is slightly smaller in area than densely populated Taiwan, but with nearly double the population...
, kendang are used to keep the tempo of Gamelan Degung
Gamelan degung
Gamelan Degung is a Sundanese musical ensemble that uses a subset of modified gamelan instruments with a particular mode of pelog scale.- Instruments :The instrumentation of gamelan degung is quite flexible. It may include:...
. Kendang are also used as main instrument for Jaipongan
Jaipongan
Jaipongan, also known as Jaipong, is a popular traditional dance of Sundanese people, West Java, Indonesia. The dance was created by Gugum Gumbira, based on traditional Sundanese Ketuk Tilu music and Pencak Silat movements.- Background :...
dance. In another composition called Rampak Kendang, a group of drummers play in harmony.
Kendang making
Good kendang are said to be made from the wood of jackfruitJackfruit
The jackfruit is a species of tree in the Artocarpus genus of the mulberry family . It is native to parts of Southern and Southeast Asia. It is the national fruit of Bangladesh, . The jackfruit tree is believed to be indigenous to the southwestern rain forests of India...
, coconut
Coconut
The coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s or cempedak
Cempedak
Artocarpus integer, known as Chempedak, chempedek or cempedak , is a species of tree and its fruit in the family Moraceae. It is native to southeast Asia, occurring from Indonesia, Malaya Peninsula to the island of New Guinea/Papua. It has been introduced to Queensland...
. Buffalo
Water Buffalo
The water buffalo or domestic Asian water buffalo is a large bovine animal, frequently used as livestock in southern Asia, and also widely in South America, southern Europe, northern Africa, and elsewhere....
hide is often used for the bam (inferior surface which emits low-pitch beats) while goatskin is used for the chang (superior surface which emits high-pitch beats).
The skin is stretched on y-shaped leather or rattan
Rattan
Rattan is the name for the roughly 600 species of palms in the tribe Calameae, native to tropical regions of Africa, Asia and Australasia.- Structure :...
strings, which can be tightened to change the pitch of the heads. The thinner the leather the sharper the sound.
Varieties
Gamelan Surakarta
A typical large, double gamelan in contemporary Solo will include, in the sléndro set, one saron panerus , two saron barung, one or two saron demung, one gendér panerus, one gender barung, one slenthem , one bonang panerus and one bonang barung , one gambang kayu, one siter or celempung, one...
, four sizes of kendhang are used:
- Kendhang ageng, kendhang gede (krama/ngoko, similar to gong agengGong agengThe gong ageng is . It is the largest of the bronze gongs in the Javanese and Balinese gamelan orchestra...
in usage), or kendhang gendhing is the largest kendang, which usually has the deepest tone. It is played by itself in the kendhang satunggal (lit. "one drum") style, which is used for the most solemn or majestic pieces or parts of pieces. It is played with the kendhang ketipung for kendhang kalih (lit. "two drum") style, which is used in faster tempos and less solemn pieces. - Kendhang ciblon is a medium-sized drum, used for the most complex or lively rhythms. It is typically used for livelier sections within a piece. The word ciblon derives from a JavaJavaJava is an island of Indonesia. With a population of 135 million , it is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely populated regions in the world. It is home to 60% of Indonesia's population. The Indonesian capital city, Jakarta, is in west Java...
nese type of water-play, where people smack the water with different hand shapes to give different sounds and complex rhythms. The technique of this kendang, which is said to imitate the water-play, is more difficult to learn than the other kendang styles. - Kendhang batangan or kendhang wayang is also medium-sized, and was traditionally used to accompany wayangWayangWayang is a Javanese word for theatre . When the term is used to refer to kinds of puppet theatre, sometimes the puppet itself is referred to as wayang...
performances, although now other drums can be used as well. - Kendhang ketipung is the smallest kendang, used with the kendang ageng in kendhang kalih style.